Grants Office

The Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) Grants Office is located within the College Advancement Office, which also houses the GRCC Foundation. The Grants Office assists faculty and staff in obtaining grant funding to advance the Mission, Vision and Strategic Outcomes (Ends) of the College, thus supporting the development of projects and programs that foster teaching and learning strategies designed to enhance student success. The Grants Office does not offer grants or scholarships directly to students; those services are provided by the GRCC Financial Aid Office at http://www.grcc.edu/financialaid .

Services offered by the GRCC Grants Office:

• Research Funding Opportunities: The Grants and Resource Development Officer conducts ongoing research on Grant Opportunities that meet GRCC’s strategic priorities. Faculty and staff are continuously informed about new grants that become available. For assistance in identifying funding sources to support a specific project, contact the Grants and Resource Development Officer or submit a Grant Concept Form to the Grants Officer.

• Analyze Proposals for Strategic Fit: The Grants and Resource Development Officer works closely with faculty and staff to ensure that project ideas and proposals are consistent with College priorities and match the requirements of the funding source. A Grants Development Process has been established to analyze and develop project ideas and proposals, determine strategic fit and obtain internal approvals from College leadership to request funding.

• Maintain Funder and Community Partnerships: Maintaining strong relationships with funders is an important function of both the Grants Office and the College Advancement Office. For the most part, staff maintain contacts with local, State and national private and public philanthropies and government agencies to advocate for the success of funding requests and maintain consistent communications through a single point of contact. The Grants Office also plays a key role in forming collaborative partnerships with community organizations to support common proposals and jointly apply for funding.

• Facilitate Grants Development Process: The Grants and Resource Development Officer is available to assist faculty and staff in the Grants Development Process from conceptualization to final proposal submission. The level of assistance varies based on the complexity of the grant proposal, the experience of the proposer(s) and the need for a team approach to develop the grant proposal. The Grants Officer coordinates grants preplanning, data gathering in conjunction with Institutional Research and Planning, development of goals, objectives and outcomes, and the grants submission process with key individuals or a grant development team.

• Proposal Writing and Editing: It is the function of the Grants and Resource Development Officer to ensure that grant proposals submitted by GRCC are well-written and complete, with information that is compelling to the funding source. The Grants Officer reviews and edits, if necessary, all proposals submitted by the College. For most large government grants, the Grants Officer serves as the primary writer of the proposal and/or edits sections written by grant development team members. Sufficient lead time for proposal review is required prior to submission and faculty and staff should inform the Grants Officer of a pending grant submission as soon as possible.

• Manage Internal Approval Process: Each grant submitted by GRCC must first be approved by a Dean or Assistant Dean and/or Provost, then the Grants and Resource Development Officer, the Executive Vice President of Business and Financial Services and finally, the President. In addition, staff from Institutional Research and Planning, Business and Financial Services and Human Resources must be made aware of grant submissions that will require their services. For proposals with college-wide or cross-department impacts, the Academic Governing Council may also be involved in the grants approval process. The Grants Development Flowchart further describes the internal approval process. A Dean's Pre-Approval Form can be used to obtain formal approvals, however if the Dean or Assistant Dean is involved in the grants development process or for small grants, informal approval can be relayed verbally or through email to the Grants Officer. A Final Approval Form is always required prior to each proposal submission and this form should be provided to the Grants Officer for processing two weeks in advance of proposal submission.

• Coordinate Grants Submissions: Final submission of grants can be coordinated by the Grants Office or by faculty or staff proposers. Most large federal grant submissions are coordinated by the Grants and Resource Development Officer to ensure that forms are accurately completed; all required documentation, such as 501(c)(3) and audit information, are included and that submission deadlines are met.

• Maintain the Grants Database: A Grants Activities Database is maintained by the Grants Office that lists all currently funded projects, grants recently submitted and projects that did not receive funding. This database can be used to track the timing of submission of grants for renewal or continuation.

• Grants Administration: The Grants Office plays a limited role in the administration of funded projects. Grants management is conducted by the project director assigned to the project during the grants development process. Financial management of grants is administered by Business and Financial Services staff. Human Resources is responsible for the process to hire new employees supported by grant funds. As time permits, the Grants and Resource Development Officer can help grant project directors solve problems, interpret funding guidelines, offer advice on interacting with the funding agency’s program officer, and provide feedback on reports.

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